Never Let Me Go
by Another Rainy Day
Summary: Bumblestripe lost the cat he loved. Ivypool lost her sister. But in the wake of Dovewing's death, they find comfort in each other...and maybe something more? IvyXBumble.


**Okay, I officially have no idea what I'm doing. Tell me if it's wrong or something, I guess? XD**

**I'm new here, and stuff is kinda confusing, so if I'm doing something wrong, tell me and I'll fix it. ^^  
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**I don't own the characters, or Warriors, or anything like that, just the writing. o3o Credit to Erin Hunter for the rest.**

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><p>Four moons ago, Dovewing had died.<p>

It had been so quick. One day, Dovewing was alive and healthy. She had the world, and everything else she had ever wanted, as a member of the Three, and the only survivor. She was a hero, to the Clans, a hero with everything she could possibly desire.

But in one swift, fluid motion, some unknown force had caused the tunnels to collapse on her. No warning. No signs. Nothing. She had been there, safe and happy, and then she was just...gone.

Bumblestripe sighed as he stared up at the stars, trying to find the one that belonged to her. She would be safe in StarClan by now, running with her fallen Clanmates and leaping across the sky, free and happy. Happier than he could have ever made her, despite the fact he would have given her the moon if he could. It should comfort him to think of her, dead but more alive than she ever was in life.

It didn't.

The gray tom sighed, allowing himself to breathe in the sweet scent of jasmine. He remembered the sweet ignorance of being in love with her, the familiar rush that he had always gotten whenever she looked like she might love him, too.

She didn't, of course. She probably never had.

No, Dovewing loved Tigerheart, a warrior of ShadowClan. She had given her heart to Bumblestripe to shut away her forbidden romance, but it hadn't worked.

Bumblestripe knew he should know this; it just wasn't meant to be. She was dead. And her heart belonged to a cat across the border.

But it was hard when he knew he would still do anything for her, anything and everything.

He leaned back, lying against the soft grass. This place was so calm and peaceful, everything his world wasn't right now. More than anything, he missed the simple days when he could come here, his heart light and happy, when everything in his life was predictable and certain.

He wanted to be in love.

But not just love. Bumblestripe wanted to have a relationship where he was loved in return, where he knew that the emotion in the other cat's eyes was real and true. He wanted to be in love with a living she-cat, not a ghost in the stars.

He wanted Dovewing.

He wanted everything he thought they had, without the truth.

But that world would never be his again.

_Why me, StarClan? Why did you have to tear my life apart?_

**{** -X- **}**

Ivypool padded through the forest, head down.

It was late, and she knew she should be asleep. But some part of her could never stay in her nest at night, and she suspected that it was because her body had grown used to going to the Dark Forest every night, and she was too used to being awake to ever find sleep.

Dovewing's death didn't help.

She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memories of her sister and the mixed emotions they always brought. Jealousy. Love. Pain. Anger. Loneliness. And the constant desire to be as good as she was, have everything she had.

But now Dovewing was gone. Dead.

Her mind was tired from lack of sleep - she was used to enduring it, but that didn't make her blind to her own exhaustion - but somehow, she ended up in a field of flowers, watching Bumblestripe stare at the stars.

He must be missing Dovewing. Of course.

She gazed at the gray tom, wondering what was going through his mind right now. Did it hurt to lose everything you'd ever cared about in a single heartbeat?

Yes. Of course it did. It had to.

Not that she would know.

"Ivypool?" A voice jerked her back to the present, and she realized Bumblestripe had noticed her. He amber gaze was calm, a bit puzzled, but there was distant, lost look buried within.

"Sorry," she murmured, dropping his gaze. Her blue eyes fell to the ground. "I didn't mean to stare, I just -"

"You miss Dovewing, too, don't you?" It was stated as a question, but Ivypool got the feeling it wasn't. "She was your sister. It must be hard..."

"It is." Ivypool moved closer to him, padding soundlessly through the small meadow. "We weren't perfect, and our relationship had problems, but at the end of the day..."

"You love her?" Bumblestripe guessed quietly.

She was standing directly in front of the grieving tom now, facing him. "Yes. She's family." She paused, searching his eyes. "But it's harder for you. You loved her, didn't you?"

"Yes." Now Bumblestripe was the one looking in another direction. "But she never loved me. It was just a trick, something to keep her mind off of Tigerheart. It would have never worked."

Ivypool sat down beside him. The grass was nice and soft, and the flowers gave off a comforting scent. She felt safe here, oddly. Safe in a world that was always changing, never quite right for her...

After a moment of silence between the two, Bumblestripe suddenly burst out talking. "I-I...before she died, I found out. She was meeting Tigerheart, and she had been for moons...I was angry. And hurt. I thought she betrayed me. She told me she loved him, that it wasn't going to work between us...I should have told her it was okay, tried to save what we have, but I didn't. And she left, and when she came back, she was dead, and now she'll never know..."

Ivypool touched her nose to his ear comfortingly, not sure what else to do. "She knows, Bumblestripe. She's watching us. She can hear you."

"But it's too late," he wailed. "I love her so much, Ivypool, but she'll never know..."

It was then that it began to dawn on Ivypool what it was like to have the cat you love in love with someone else.

"I understand," she whispered in a strained voice. "I really do..."

"Understand what?"

Ivypool took a deep breath. "Missing Dovewing, I mean. And never letting her know how important she was to me. We used to fight all of the time, Bumblestripe...she was special. And that was all I ever wanted to be; I wanted it so much that I joined the most evil cats in the world to prove it. But it didn't help, did it? Because she's dead, and I'll still never be as good as she was."

There was truth in her words. But it still wasn't what she had meant.

"You're special, Ivypool." Bumblestripe's voice broke into her train of thoughts, startling her. "Don't let yourself believe you aren't good enough. You are."

_No, I'm not Bumblestripe. Not for you._

"You don't understand. She was one of the Three. I'm just a regular warrior." Ivypool watched a moth land on a blade of grass a few fox-lengths away.

"But how is that bad?" Bumblestripe questioned her. He sighed softly. "Dovewing [i]was[/i] amazing. She was perfect. She was everything to be. But that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you."

Ivypool didn't respond.

Silence hung heavy between the two cats.

"I miss her, Bumblestripe," the light gray tabby finally whispered. "I wish she wasn't dead."

"I know, Ivypool." To her surprise, he pressed his pelt against hers in comfort and drew his tail around her slim figure. Gratefully, she leaned against his shoulder. "I miss her, too. More than anything."

Ivypool sighed softly, drawing strength from the closeness of Bumblestripe's pelt. She breathed in his scent, relaxing, and felt a sense of calm for the first time in forever. She was safe with him. And he might not love her back, but that was okay. His heart belonged to Dovewing. It would never be hers, just like everything else Dovewing had possessed. But it was easy to pretend that it was all okay when he held her close.

And maybe, just maybe he would grow to return her feelings.

But it was okay.

_Just never let me go._

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><p><strong>Yeah, it's not very good. DX<strong> **And I'm horrible at this. Yay~**


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